Lamborghini Doesn’t Mind Its Chinese Copycats

A farmer in his 50s drives his self-made scale replica of a Lamborghini with his grandson on a street in Zhengzhou, Henan province.

China Daily/Reuters

The Chinese grandfather who made a miniature Lamborghini for his grandson can rest easy. The folks at the Italian auto maker have no intention of slapping him or the handful of others making their own versions of the luxury cars with a lawsuit for intellectual property infringement.

“It’s not really a big violation of our copyright,” said Andrea Baldi, the managing director of Automobili Lamborghini China. “In a way, it’s actually nice that somebody is showing this passion and it gives you an idea of how strong the brand is in China.”

According to recent local news reports, the man—a farmer from the central Chinese province of Henan—invested 5,000 yuan ($816) and six months of his time crafting the mini supercar, which can reach speeds of 60 kilometers per hour. The tiny sports car comes with switchblade doors, an audio system and mirrors.

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That follows the actions of people such as mechanic Wang Jian from the eastern province of Jiangsu, who spent 60,000 yuan to build his own “Lamborghini” and this barber from southwestern Yunnan province who built a “near perfect” replica of the car.

Mr. Guo looks on as his grandson gets on the Lamborghini replica.

Reuters

In an interview Monday, Mr. Baldi said he expected sales growth in the broader luxury sports car market in China to decline to close to 5% this year from around 15% last year as China’s economy stabilizes. But even amid slower growth, he said the company isn’t worried about such copycats.

“There is not a big difference between a young kid sketching [a car] and putting it on the wall and a grandfather creating one that is similar to a Lamborghini,” he said.

Besides, that kid might grow up to own a real Lamborghini one day. Some people buy the sports cars because they fell in love with them as children, he said. “It’s like injecting a virus—a good one. Sooner or later you have the purchasing power to buy it and you have the real one.”

Mr. Baldi said he would cherish the chance to meet the people so loyal to the auto maker’s brand.

“I’d like to meet this guy who probably can’t afford to buy a Lamborghini,” he said. “Even myself I can’t buy [one].”

“We all share the same passion,” said Mr. Baldi. “It’s not really a threat.”

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